Amikacin (BBK8) in infections due to gram-negative organisms in children over the age of one month.

Thirty children over the age of one month were treated with amikacin (BBK8), a new aminoglycoside derived from kanamycin A, with three intramuscular dosage schedules. Each group consisted of ten patients. The first received 7-5 mg/kg/12 hours, the second 7-5 mg/kg/24 hours and the third, 3-75 mg/kg/12 hours. The infections and the bacteria were similar in all three groups: pyelonephritis, abscesses of soft tissues, infected wounds, septicaemia, superinfected empyema, gastro-enteritis, chronic otitis media; the bacteria were E. coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Salmonella. A were sensitive by the Kirby-Bauer method, although two were resistant by dilution in Petri dish. Of the thirty patients, twenty four (80%) were cured. The schedule of 3-75 mg/kg/12 hours was as effective as the schedule of 7-5 mg/kg/12 hours for infections such as pyelonephritis, superficial abscesses, contaminated wounds, gastro-enteritis and sepsis. The cases with infections localized in rather unaccessible sites required double the dose and strict drainage and cleanliness. Plasma levels with the administration of 3-75 mg/kg fluctuated between 8-3 and 12-6 mcg/ml; with 7-5 mg/kg they fluctuated between 8-6 and 13-1. The minimum inhibitory level (MIL) for the majority of the bacteria was 1-25 mcg/ml. No toxic reactions were observed.